Adrianne Baughns-Wallace

Adrianne Baughns-Wallace (born in 1944) was a television journalist, the first African-American television anchor in New England, and a member of the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

Early years Baughns-Wallace was born in The Bronx, New York, She was educated at St. Colombo School, Washington Irving School, and University at Albany, SUNY, where she majored in communications. Before becoming a broadcast journalist, she worked for a telephone company, an automobile agency, and an airline. In October 1978, Baughns was named co-anchor of WFSB's 6 p.m. Eyewitness News broadcast, becoming the first female anchor of an evening newscast in Connecticut. The departure was a lifestyle choice. "I really needed to define for myself what my son needed and what I needed for our lives," Baughns-Wallace said.

After leaving WFSB, in addition to being an independent TV producer, Baughns-Wallace was the host of Essence, a program for black women that was broadcast on WPIX in New York City.

Operation Fuel In the late 1980s, Baughns-Wallace became director of Operation Fuel (OF), a nonprofit, private institution. OF, a program of the Christian Conference of Connecticut, provides funds (via a checkoff program of Connecticut Light & Power Company) to help the poor, elderly, and disabled to pay their utility bills. A 1996 article in the Hartford Courant's Sunday magazine commented, "... she's found her mission and purpose in life ..."

State government In 2001, Baughns-Wallace was director of financial education for the Connecticut treasurer's office. Her job entailed teaching citizens of Connecticut about responsible financial planning. A newspaper article described her as "part facilitator, part advocate and part cheerleader."

Personal life Baughns-Wallace is divorced from her first husband and has a son.

Recognition In 2000, Baughns-Wallace was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, "an honor given to those who have broken the barriers for women in a job, doing most of their work while in Connecticut." Her credentials included being the first African-American TV anchor in New England and the first female TV anchor in Connecticut. She also received the National Council of Negro Women's Distinguished Service Award.